USF rolls past Pepperdine after slow 1st half

Updated 11:10 pm, Saturday, January 4, 2014

But after his team played a first half that bordered on the unwatchable Saturday afternoon, USF head coach Rex Walters made the Dons run their motion offense 5-on-5 during most of their warm-ups before the second half.

He said he wanted his players "to see how many scoring opportunities there are in our motion. It wasn't a punishment. I think our guys were probably a little embarrassed, but sometimes that's OK, too."

Properly chastened, USF dominated the second half and rolled past Pepperdine 76-66 on the Hilltop.

The difference in the numbers between the first and second halves? In a word, stark:

-- The Dons trailed 27-19 at halftime. They outscored Pepperdine 57-39 after the break.

-- The Waves (10-6, 3-1 WCC) owned a 24-14 rebounding edge in the first half. The Dons outrebounded Pepperdine 24-13 in the second half.

-- USF went 7-for-28 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, in the first half. The second half: 20-for-39 and 6-for-11.

Forward Kruize Pinkins led the Dons (10-6, 3-1) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He admitted he was a little surprised when Walters called for the 5-on-5 stretch during halftime.

"I was moving kind of slow at first," Pinkins said, "and then he was like, 'Full speed,' so I knew he was about business."

Said guard Tim Derksen: "We weren't running our offense (in the first half). You've got to make them guard you."

Guard Matt Glover went 0-for-8 from the floor, but was 7-for-8 from the line and added eight rebounds and a game-high six assists.

"It was the best 0-for-8 performance you can possibly have," Walters said.

Briefly: Pepperdine guard Malcolm Brooks injured his ankle late in the first half and did not play in the second half. He scored eight points, connecting on all four of his field-goal attempts. ... Brendan Lane led the Waves with 13 points. Stacy Davis had a game-high 13 rebounds. ... USF went 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) from the foul line. The Dons entered Saturday last in the WCC in free-throw percentage (62.1).

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